Home is where old furniture is. 

Many describe the Pride Center as giving you a  warm feeling walking in, others describe it as a home away from home. 

Julian Clarke, Leadership liaison of the SOL and LGBTQ+ Multicultural initiative, wants to show the Pride Center more as a home. To create a home, Clarke yearns to create a culture of care and a sense of community. 

The culture and community of the Pride Center that lived in the four rooms of the house where the Pride center was located is now at the Student Experience Center. 

Marin Monteith, or Monty, the student leadership liaison at the Pride Center says the Pride Center is “a home away from home,” for a lot of students. 

The Pride Center has resided in the A Avenue house since 2004, according to Monty. 

SOL is an initiative that started in 2003 out of the pride center as a way to cross intersectionalities of queerness and other identities. 

At the previous house SOL had its own division. Clarke says the SEC room is larger, but it is all consolidated into one space. 

“The space is huge, so we need people to fill it up really quickly,” Clarke said about the new SEC location. 

Monty shares that they are excited about being central to campus and having more access to other resources. 

The Pride Center leaves its house for one year and a quarter to get renovated. Some of the Pride Center’s priorities are a larger kitchen that can serve as a place to eat at and expanded office space. As to for SOL, they are trying to encapsulate all the cultural centers to show the intersectionality through interior design. 

The Pride Center will be double the size, and include a new ramp, a wrap around porch, and separate sections for pride and SOL. 

With more students coming the Pride Center is looking to expand the space and make it more accessible to people. 

The renovation is funded by Diversity & Cultural Engagement, some donations and mostly the Pride Center’s Division budget. 

The temporary move has allowed the Pride Center to connect more with other cultural centers. “It’s a great opportunity for us to reach out for support, such as laundry,” Clarke said. 

Clarke assures constituents and newcomers that the Pride Center will still have a washer and dryer once the construction at the Pride Center’s house is done. 

As for the move, the UHDS as well as some of the staff helped with the move. Although Clarke does not feel like they are entirely moved until without all the posters being up, or every box being unpacked, he welcomes people to come to the Pride Center. 

“It is a completely functional center though,” Clarke said. 

Clarke said anyone is invited to the Pride Center. SOL caters and  holds space more for BIPOC Queer folk, but anyone is welcome. 

The Pride Center will have a Welcome Week on Sep. 22 at the Brick Mall and Sep. 23 the Pride Center is hosting an Open House. 

For more information about their hours, and events the Pride Center’s Instagram is @osupridecenter. SOL’s Instagram is sol_qtpoc_osu. 

“I think they saw it more as a house, and we want to show it more as a home,” Clarke said.